PG Hussain Shameem has said that everywhere in the world, children who commit crimes are given rehabilitative treatment, adding that sentencing every child who commits an offence to prison would only result in creating a generation of criminals.
Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem has said that everywhere in the world, children who commit crimes are given rehabilitative treatment, adding that sentencing every child who commits an offence to prison would only result in creating a generation of criminals.
With a heated debate arising following the bullying and violence case in Alif Alif Atoll Rasdhoo, PG Shameem weighed in with his opinion by posting comments alongside a link to an earlier blogpost of his dated 2022.
In his post, the PG said that instead of strict punishment and through such actions, driving children into a life of crime, what children who offend needs is rehabilitation and advise so that their young minds will understand and encourage them to move away from crimes committed at younger ages.
"We have all made mistakes when young. If all of that is to be punished, and we were to be jailed for them, there would have been no one in society today to talk about this," Shameem wrote on Facebook.
"Around the world, children who commit offences are provided treatment. Not punishment. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not a solution for this. If we lower the age, and we put every child who offends into jail, then we are creating a generation of criminals. They will see no reason to mend their ways. The result being, they will not hesitate to waste their entire lives in criminal activity."
Shameem emphasized that the solution lies in rehabilitation, pointing out that there is an existing system for this in Maldives even at present, which just has not been properly implemented to date.
"There are technical experts in Maldives who can do this. These fifty or so children at the age of committing crimes, if the State focuses on them and runs a program, this will be a successful investment," the PG said.
As per the Juvenile Justice Act passed in 2019, children must take responsibility for criminal acts beyond the age of 15. Prior to the ratification of this Act, the law was that beyond the age of 10, children must be held responsible for crimes that carry a 'Hadd' penalty in Islamic Shariah, and that they must bear responsibility for all other crimes as well beyond the age of 13.
The government announced last night that they intended to revise the laws so that the minimum age of criminal responsibility is defined as 12 years.
Shameem, however, even in his 2022 blogpost, maintains that such children must be rehabilitated.
Shameem pointed out that the Juvenile Justice Act also stipulates that the State must take immediate preventive active to save children under the age of criminal responsibility for risk of being exposed to or involved in criminal activity, and that they must be provided with rehabilitation and other necessary treatment.
Shameem notes that the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is, by law, mandated to oversee matters related to children at-risk of criminality of criminal exposure. His stand is that, as such, it is a responsibility of the DJJ to take preventive measures, rehabilitation and reintegration into society for at-risk children.
"Regardless of where the child is, if there is an accusation that the child is involved in crime, it is a responsibility of DJJ to conduct programs for them. In this, it does not matter whether or not the child is of an age to bear criminal responsibility," he stated.
Regulations made under this law state that such programs must have collaboration from parents, families, educational institutes and other such relevant entities.
The government's decision to lower the age of criminal responsibility have come following the incident in Rasdhoo. While the perpetrators are themselves minors aged 13 and 14, reports indicate that one of them holds a previous record of similar offences.
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